Archive for February, 2009

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Argentina on Thursday blasted the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency for saying the country, along with Ecuador and Venezuela, could be pushed into instability by the global economic crisis.

Lumping Argentina together with Ecuador and Venezuela, both led by leftist anti-Washington firebrands, raises concern in this country, where center-left President Cristina Kirchner is trying to keep the economy from stagnating.

Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana called the comments made on Wednesday by CIA Director Leon Panetta “unfounded and irresponsible, especially from an agency that has a sad history of meddling in the affairs of countries in the region.”

Taiana said he will meet on Friday with U.S. Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne to demand an explanation. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by John O’Callaghan)

Supporters of Arnold – who fired 18 shots at the 24-year-old Rodriguez, striking him nine times – say the videos show he was justified in fearing that Rodriguez was about to run him or fellow officers over. Rodriguez – a Guatemalan illegal immigrant who had a blood-alcohol content of 0.31, nearly four times the legal limit – was wanted on probation violation charges related to drunken driving, driving without a license and driving with false registration.

On December 16, 1773, the original Patriots put their lives on the line. With an envelope, a stamp, and a bag of tea, millions of Americans can send a peaceful message; our lives have value.

On April 1st, our establishment will know that our freedom to succeed can no longer be sacrificed at the risk of our future.

With sincerity and respect, we ask that you join us on April 1st, 2009, in sending the Oval Office a Tea Bag, in honor of the party in Boston on December 16, 1773, and in anticipation of its nationwide symbolic re-enactment in the summer of 2009.

If you have had enough, please submit your pledge to send Washington a Tea Bag on April 1st by using the pledge form in the right sidebar.

NEW YORK – Oklahoma’s House of Representatives is the first legislative body to pass a state sovereignty resolution this year under the terms of the Tenth Amendment. The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 1003 Feb. 18 by a wide margin, 83 to 13, resolving, “That the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States. ” The language of HJR 1003 further serves notice to the federal government “to cease and desist, effectively immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers. ” The sponsor of the resolution, state Rep. Charles Key, told WND the measure was a ‘big step toward addressing the biggest problem we have in this country – the federal government violating the supreme law of the land. ” “The Constitution either means what it says, or it doesn’t mean anything at all,” Key said. “The federal government must honor and obey the Constitution, just like the states and this citizens of this country are obligated to do, or our system of government begins to fall apart. ” The Ninth Amendment reads, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The Tenth Amendment specifically provides, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. ” As WND reported, eight states have introduced resolutions declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington. Analysts expect 12 additional states may see similar measures introduced this year, including Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania. Key argued that whenever “we allow the federal government, or any other government entity, to violate the Constitution, we destroy the Constitution one piece at a time. ” “We have gone so far down that path that the Constitution is hanging by a thread right now,” he said. Last year, the same resolution introduced by Key passed the Oklahoma House, but the floor leader in the Senate, Democrat Sen. Charles Lassiter, used his authority to block consideration of the measure on the Senate floor. But state Sen. Randy Brogdon has sponsored comparable legislation, and he told WND the “chances are excellent” it “will be passed in the Senate this session. ” Brogdon said his bill, SJR 10, has made it out of committee and will be heard on the Senate floor in the next couple of weeks. The lawmaker said he will double-track HJR 1003 to increase the chances one of the sovereignty resolutions gets to the Senate floor. “We going to work Rep. Charles Key’s bill through the committee,” Brogdon said, “and our goal in the Senate is to use HCR 1003 as the final bill. ” Brogdon told WND he feels confident Democrats in the Oklahoma Senate will not be able to block the sovereignty measure this year. “Last year, the Democrats in the Senate were able to veto consideration of Rep. Key’s bill,” he said, “but this year the Republicans are in control of the Oklahoma House and the Oklahoma Senate, for the first time in Oklahoma’s history. ” Oklahoma was the only state in the 2008 election in which every county voted for the Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. “The Democratic leadership in the state legislature has been outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party for decades in Oklahoma,” Brogdon said. “We finally turned the corner in 2008, with Republican majorities in both House and Senate. “We still have a Democratic governor in Oklahoma,” Brogdon said, “but we hope to change that in 2010. ” Brogdon is widely being mentioned as a Republican candidate for governor in 2010. Key crafted his resolution so it takes effect once the Oklahoma Senate passes the measure, even without the governor’s signature.

NEW YORK (AP) – MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said he was surprised by the “peculiar stagecraft” of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s response to President Barack Obama’s speech to Congress, leading him to quietly say “Oh God” as Jindal approached a microphone.The remark inspired a brief Internet guessing game about who had said it and questions about whether someone at MSNBC was mocking the Republican governor.

Matthews’ barely audible “Oh God” appeared to be a classic case of someone talking on TV without realizing their microphone was on, and potentially embarrassing to a network many Republicans already regard with suspicion because of left-leaning talk shows by Keith Olbermannand Rachel Maddow.

“I was taken aback by that peculiar stagecraft, the walking from somewhere in the back of this narrow hall, the winding staircase looming there, the odd antibellum look of the scene,” Matthews said in a script for his “Hardball” show on Wednesday. “Was this some mimicking of a president walking along the state floor to the East Room?”

Matthews said he wasn’t referring to Jindal himself, or anything he expected the governor to say.

A clip of the “Oh God” remark quickly made the Internet rounds. Before it was known that Matthews had said it, the Huffington Postasked readers to guess who it was and nearly 7,000 people responded: 32 percent had guessed Matthews, 35 percent said it was Olbermann, his co-anchor, 15 percent said it was an MSNBC camera operator and 18 percent thought it was a producer.

It’s not the first time Matthews’ mouth has gotten him noticed for the wrong reasons. He was ridiculed by some Republicans for saying he “felt this thrill going up my leg” during an Obama speech, but later defended the remark as an objective look at Obama’s ability to inspire through his speeches.

After some protests by women’s groups, Matthews said he was wrong last year to say that the reason Hillary Clinton was a senator and candidate for president “is that her husband messed around.”

THIS GUY appears to have been hit by a fast ball right in the head without a helmet. he is he poster boy for the think before you speak caucus

“The Senate came together today and sent a clear message that we will no longer tolerate this failure of the federal government to protect our borders and ensure our national security,” Delph said. “I am committed to working with members of the Indiana House of Representatives to continue the discussion on illegal immigration.”

If a second violation occurs, the employer could receive up to 10-years probation and be required to file quarterly reports. A third violation could result in the permanent loss of the business license in Indiana.

Delph said his legislation includes a “safe harbor” for an employer who verifies the work status of an employee using the E-Verify System, a federal system free to employers who want to confirm citizenship or legal employability. The legislation requires exempt organizations to use the E-Verify system.

SB 580 also includes several other provisions targeting illegal immigration across Indiana:

Prohibits sanctuary policies for illegal aliens;

Increases penalties for counterfeiting or falsely reproducing a driver’s license;

Requires the Indiana Department of Corrections to check the citizenship or immigration status of a adult and juvenile offenders committed to a correction facility;

Requires the Indiana Department of Labor to use the SAVE program to determine the immigration statuses for unemployment benefit eligibility;

Prohibits the employment of illegal immigrants by state agencies and public contractors and requires the use of the free, federal E-Verify system;

Increases penalties for distributing counterfeit identifications;

Increases penalties for someone who knowingly or intentionally transports, conceals, harbors or shields from detection an illegal immigrant for commercial or private financial gain; and

Increases penalties to use individual tax identification numbers or consular identifications for purposes other than provided in federal law.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel’s invasion and to strengthen the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The money, which needs U.S. congressional approval, will be distributed through U.N. and other bodies and not via the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said one official.

“This money is for Gaza and to help strengthen the Palestinian Authority. It is not going to go to Hamas,” said the official, who asked not to be named as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to announce the funding at a donors’ conference in Egypt next week.

IF you think this could never happen if you thought obama would never allow it. you were wrong. this is how it starts these people are using their first amendmant rights to quash another persons. first its the obvious dissenters conservatives then its the wish washy people in their own party then its everyone. support the new york post boycott al sharpton.

Last weekendNewsChannel 15 reported some Allen County republicans are calling for a change in leadership.

Shine has chaired the party for the last 15 years.

The election for chairman is March 7th. Right now Shine is unopposed.

i was shocked at this endorsement. mike pence has always come across as knowing his constituency but this single move has shaken my confidence in this congressman. while the national party has elected new blood and that new blood has cleaned house mike pence hs decided that the same ole same ole is good for allen county. steve shine is so far on the liberal end of the spectrum he bleeds blue when cut. this is a man that holds no true conservative ideals and a man that has alienated a huge block of voters here in fort wayne. the average working man cannot go into the downtown office and feel wanted. i guess the libertarians will pick up even more voters next election. when will these people in the belt way realise to trust their guts instead of their political instincts.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concernshinder cooperation with China.

Paying her first visit to Asia as the top US diplomat, Clinton said the United States would continue to press China on long-standing US concerns over human rights such as its rule over Tibet.

“But our pressing on those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis,” Clinton told reporters in Seoul just before leaving for Beijing.

T. Kumar of Amnesty International USA said the global rights lobby was “shocked and extremely disappointed” by Clinton’s remarks.

“The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues,” he said.

“But by commenting that human rights will not interfere with other priorities, Secretary Clinton damages future US initiatives to protect those rights in China,” he said.

Students for a Free Tibet said Clinton’s remarks sent the wrong signal to China at a sensitive time.

“The US government cannot afford to let Beijing set the agenda,” said Tenzin Dorjee, deputy director of the New York-based advocacy group.

China has been pouring troops into the Himalayan territory ahead of next month’s 50th anniversary of the uprising that sent Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama into exile in India.

“Leaders really need to step up and pressure China. It’s often easy to wonder whether pressure makes a difference. It may not make a difference in one day or one month, but it would be visible after some years,” Dorjee said.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had sent a letter to Clinton before her maiden Asia visit urging her to raise human rights concerns with Chinese leaders.

Before she left, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said human rights would be “an important issue” for Clinton and that she would “raise the issue when appropriate.”

China has greeted President Barack Obama‘s administration nervously, believing he would press Beijing harder on human rights and trade issues than former president George W. Bush.